Fence-post.



J. G. CALHOUN.

FENCE POST. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 1, 1911.

Patented Dec.19,1911.

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arrangement of devices JOEE C. CALHOUN, OE TMIDVILLE, GEORGIA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented nee. in, rail.

Application filed March 'l, 1811. Serial No. 611,602.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN C. Gammon, a citizen of the United States, residing at Midville, in the county of Burke State of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fence-Posts, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawis a similar view with one of the side members removed. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of my improved post partly in section on the plane indicated by the line a-a of Fig. 1.

My improved post is made of iron or steel or other suitable metal. In the curbodiment of my invention, 1 provide a base member 1, which is adapted to be set in the ground at a suitable depth and forms a support for the post. The upper portion of the base member projects above the ground and is provided at its front side with downwardly and forwardly inclined hooks 2 for engagement by the lower runner wire of a wire fence fabric. Theoppositc sides of the base member are flat and the base member is also provided-near its upper end with transverse openings 3.

On opposite sides of that portion of the base member which projects above the ground are a pair of side members a which are metal plates of suitable dimensions. The said side members are provided at their lower ends with outwardly extending feet 5, to bear on the surface of the ground at opposite sides of the base member, and hence provide an extended base for the post to assist in supporting the same and to keep it in an upright position, and enable it to withstand the stress of the fence fabric. The side members t are narrower than the base member, and their inner edges or rear edges are coincident with those of the base member, so that the hooked front edge of the base member projects beyond the front sides or edges of the side members. lhe side members are provided with openings 6, to register with the openings 3 of the base member so that demgs.

This invention relates to improvements in fence posts and especially posts for supporting wire fencing comprising runner wires and vertical stay wires, the invention consisting in the construction, combination and hereinafter described and claimed;

One object of my invention is to provide an improved fence post including a vertically adjustable member by means of which the wires of the fence may tight-- ened.

Another objectof the invention is to provide an improved fence post comprising a number of separable parts any of which may be readily removed or replaced when necessary, so that the post can be repaired at very slight'cost and used for an indefinite length of time.

A further objectof the invention is'to provide a fence post of novel construction to which the runner wires of a fence fabric be very readily attached, which will serve to firmly support the wire fence fabric and will at the same time enable the fence fabric to be readily and almost instantly detached from the post when itvis desired to do so, and without the necessity of drawing staples or other like devices from the A further object of my invention is to provide an improved fence post which comprises in addition to the anchoring lower. portion thereof, which is embedded in the ground, laterally extending feet to bear on the ground at opposite sides of the post, and provide the postwith an extended supporting base.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved post of novel construction which embodies a movable member for tightening the fence wires, and means for adjusting the said member.

In the accompanying drawingsigure 1 is a side elevation of a fence post constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig,

r1vets orother suitable vices may be placed in said registering openings to secure the side membersto the base member. -Each side member is here shown as provided at points near its lower and upper ends with vertical slots 7 Each side member is also provided on its outer side at a point in rear of its upper slot 7 with a projecting stud or boss 8, for a purpose presently described. The side members are providednear their upper ends with rivet or bolt holes 9, and each side member is also provided near its center with an openthe holes 9 of the side members so that the block may be secured between the side members by means of bolts or rivets.-

A movable member 13 which is a plate of metal of suitable dimensions is placed in the space between the side members and between the base. member and the block 11. The width of the said movable member is such that its front edge projects beyond the corres onding edges of the side members, the said projecting front edge of the movable member being provided with a series of outwardly and upwardly inclined hooks 14 for engaging the major portion of the runner wires of the fence fabric the lower runner wires, as hereinbefore stated being engaged by the downwardly directed hooks 2 of the base member. The movablemember 13 is provided with studs 15 which project beyond opposite sides thereof, and operate in the slot 7 of the side members 4. The movable member is also provided with an opening 16.

I employ in connection with the post, a lever such as shown at 17, and which has a pair of spaced arms 18 so that when the lever is placed astride of the post and its arms engaged with the studs 8 of the side members, the arms of the lever may be also engaged under the studs 15 of the movable member and the lever becomes thereby fulcrumed on the studs 8 and may be employed for raising the movable member. Assuming that the lower runner wires of the fence fabric have been engaged with the downwardly directed hooks 2 of the base member, and the other runner wires have been engaged'by the upwardly directed hooks 1 1, of the movable member, it will be understood that when the and .a locking or movable member is thus moved upwardly by the lever, the stay wires of thelfence are tightened, and all transverse slack in the fence fabric istaken up. When the movable member is thus moved upwardly to tighten the fence, its opening 16 registers with the openings 10 in the side members 4, may bolt or pin 19 is then inserted in the said registering openings, thus locking the movable member in place.

The movable members 4 are provided at their upper ends with vertical extensions 20 having openings 21 which form the bearings for the spindles 22 of a roller 28. This roller is engaged by a truss wire 24 to support the fence or fabric. As this construction of the fence with the truss support at its upper edge constitutes another invention, covered in a co-pending application for Letters Patent of the United States, filed by me March 1, 1911, Serial No. 611,604, it is not herein claimed or more specifically described.

I claim 1. A fence post comprising a base member and an upper member and means connecting the upper member to the base member for longitudinal movement of the upper member, the said connecting means comprising side members secured to the base member on opposite sides thereof and secured to opposite sides of the upper member for longitudinal movement of the upper member, the said base member and the upper member being each provided with wire engaging means. i

2. A fence post comprising a base member, a movable member, said base member and movablemember beingeach provided with wire engaging means, side members secured to the base member, and disposed on opposite sides thereof, and of the movable member, said side members and movable member having co-acting means slidably connecting the movable to the side members, and means to adjust the movable member.

3. The herein described post comprising a base member having wire engaging means, a movable member having wire engaging means, and also provided with oppositely projecting studs, side members secured to opposite sides of the base member and between which the movable member is disposed, said side members having slots, in

which the stud of the movable member operate, and a block between the upper ends of the side members and above the movable member.

4.The herein described post comprising a base member having wire engaging means,

a movable member having wire engaging means, and also provided with oppositely projecting studs, side members secured to opposite sides of the base member and be tween which the movable member is disposed, said side members having slots'in which the studs of the movable member operate, and a block between the upper ends of the side members and above the movable member, the said side members having outwardly extending feet at their lower ends.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN C. CALHOUN.

'Witnesses:

W. C. MULLING, J. B. MURPHREE. 

